The Kingdom of Tonga – Vava’u

We have been in Tonga for several days now.  We arrived on Wedensday, September 29.  On Tuesday (we skipped Monday), our wind had died to less than 10 knots.  Worrall Wind needs at least 12 knots to move.  Consequently, we polked along all night on Tuesday, finally turning the motor on around 6:30 a.m. when we got our first sight of land and our visual bearings.

Tonga – Day 1 – Wednesday, September 29, 2010 - Vava’u

As we were motoring into the channel to Neiafu, there was some splashing directly in front of us, less than 100 yards.  We slowed the engine and veered to port as three hump back whales were doing the slap dance with their fins.  A pod of dolphins was leaping about.  It was great fun to see them.  The last time we saw dolphins was in Moorea.

Our Nobeltec navigation maps on our laptop which were very accurate in French Polynesia, Cooks, and Samoas, were way off here in Tonga.  We had been warned of this, so were prepared to enter during the daylight, use the range markers, visual cues, and gps waypoints.  When we positioned ourselves correctly, we looked on the nav system to see how far off we were…..according to the nav system we were traversing the land!  This is definitely one place not to enter at night.

When we called port control, we were directed to tie up at the fisherman’s wharf and raft up to the boats already there.  We were number three in the checkin-checkout cue.  Elysion from Great Britain with friends Steve and Josie whom we had met originally in the Marquesas and again in Tahiti, were the boat we rafted up to.  We arrived about 11:00 a.m., and were boarded in succession by immigration, customs, health, and quarantine.  After our visits, we were directed to the ATM so that we could get the fee money we needed. 

Since it was after 12:00 p.m. and lunch time (all offices closed), we decided to have lunch with Steve and Josie at a local café.  We returned to our boats, stopping to pay our fees, and pushed off the fisherman’s wharf by 2:30.  The anchorage was only a short distance away where we found a buoy and latched on.

Our first visitors were Brian and Claudia from Skylight.  We had met them in Suwarrow, and they too will be going to Fiji with their boat during the hurricane season.  Brian helped to fix our Wifi bullet system in American Samoa.  It stopped working in  Samoa.  Once again, he tried to help us, but the elusive bullet was not cooperating this time.  Brian and Claudia had already been in Vava’u for a couple of days and were heading out in the morning for some of the outer anchorages.  We’ll catch up sometime within the next couple of weeks.

Later in the early evening,  we joined Don and Marie on Freezing Rain for gin and tonics.  Both Lori and Ken from Trim and Steve and Helen from Dignity were on board.  We swapped stories and spent an enjoyable evening just sitting still.

Tonga – Day 2 – Thursday, September 30, 2010

On Thursday morning, we got up and headed into town to look around and deposit or laundry at the Coconet Café which is just a short walk from the dinghy dock.  From there we met an anglo lady coming down the hill who asked us if we needed any help finding anything?  She was bubbling with excitement because she had just found a local establishment that would bake gluten free products.   We of course made one of our stops at the Tropicana Café and talked with the owner/baker where we ordered gluten-free bread and banana muffins.  Her supplies were getting low, so I offered to bring in some of my own flours which I did the following day along with my gluten free recipe book.

During our touring, we stopped at numerous shops to look around and the tourist office where we picked up a pamphlet and discovered that the Ene’io botanical gardens offered Tongan feasts and entertainment on Friday Nights.  We hustled back to the boat and organized a party for Friday night.  I was really looking forward to learning the names of native plants and trees. 

We also spent quite some time with a Fijian/British woman, Ameca, in her art shop.  She was very informative about the Tongan culture.  The farther west we have gone, the stronger the missionary influence.  In French Polynesia, provocative hip swaying dancing,  showing  and adorning skin with tattoos is the norm.  In the Samoas, the women are quite covered up and show very little skin.  Their dancing is far less sensuous.  She indicated that the women here are far more covered.  Fiji is even less tolerant. 

Ameca was telling us that the Mormon church here offers to build local families houses if they join the Mormon church, but the family must tithe 10% of their income.  As far as she knows, the Mormons are at least returning some material benefit to their parishioners.

Some churches such as the catholic church still pass the basket, and other churches, publically publish a list of families and donations received from each of the families.  She said that the Tongans are humiliated at the bottom of the list, so it is not uncommon for them to take out big loans so that their donation status rises on the list.  The standard of living is so poor here with 80 percent unemployment, that is disheartening to see the Tongans take out these loans which they can ill afford to take out or pay back, immersing them into more debt. 

We mentioned to Ameca that there were several women at the church we passed.  We inquired if it was a funeral as many of the women were wearing black.  Both men and women were seen with straw mats around their waists.  Ameca told us that today was Ladies’ Day.


It was a special day honoring women. The men and women who were wearing black are in mourning.  The thicker and bigger the mat around their waist and hips indicates their closeness to the relative that passed away.  Less than a year ago a Tongan ferry making its way north to Vava’u carrying many Vava’u citizens sank.  Seventeen people from Vava’u were killed, and many of those we saw were in mourning for those lost in this tragedy.

Other people, particularly bankers, government workers, and others who command respect where light weight short mats indicating that they have an office job or profession (similar to wearing a tie).  We noticed several students wearing the shorter mats and many who were not.

Tonga – Day 3 – Friday, October 1, 2010
On Friday morning, we made a quick trip into town to pickup our laundry, and to drop off some supplies to the Tropicana.  We picked up the banana muffins and loaf of bread, and at another stop The Crow’s Nest Café, we made arrangements for 12 cruisers to attend the Ene’io garden feast and entertainment.  Russ also picked up some very good looking muffins and cinnamon rolls.

Steve, Josie, Russ, and left for Ene’io beach via a local taxi with our packs and snorkel gear at 1:00 p.m.  We enjoyed an afternoon of lounging on a beautiful beach which we had all to ourselves, reading, swimming, and snorkeling.  Some of the remarkable creatures we saw while snorkeling were giant black sea urchins and deep indigo purple sea stars.

At 4:00 p.m., we washed off in some clear water which was provided to us in a bucket by the owner Hana’tele.  We dressed ourselves and were just finished when two more taxies pulled up with the rest of our group from Freezing Rain, Trim, Acapella, and Leu Cat.

Hana’tele is 64 years old and retired just a few years ago as a minister of agriculture for Tonga.  He is a very learned man, having traveled around the world visiting California, San Francisco and Sacramento, and meeting the Pope four times.  He inherited family land when he was 8 years old and always loved plants. 

Hana'tele

Josie from Elysion

Plants grow easily in the South Pacific, but the culture is such that Tongans do not think of plants as renewable resources.  They just take what they need until the plant becomes scarce and eventually extinct.  Planting and harvesting is not a part of their cultural psyche.  They live for the day and perhaps tomorrow, but think no farther into the future.  Over the years Hana’tele has be planting and nurturing Tonga flora.  He has had little help from friends and family who think his ideas of planting and purposefully growing plants and trees are strange.  Yet they are most willing to drop by his garden and take whatever they want (communal mentality).

We spent an enjoyable afternoon in Hana’tele’s beautiful botanical gardens.  He showed us the plants and told us how the plants, leaves, and roots are used in Tonga.  He must keep his gardens behind locked gates and fences because the cultural aspect of taking what you want would soon deplete the acres of gardens he has painstakingly grown.  Many of the species are no longer  on the verge of extinction because of his foresight.

The group enjoyed watching the sun set while we had cocktails over looking the bay.  Dinner included roast suckling pig, sea cucumbers, red snapper in a cream sauce, and curried chicken.

After dinner, we were entertained by local youth dressed in tapa performing Tongan dances and song.  Tongan women dance with their feet close together and hardly moving.  Most of the dance is done with their hands and there is no hip movement.  It is very sedate and quite exquisite compared to other Polynesian dancers. 

The boys and young men are much more active.  During the dancing, spectators are encouraged to bring their paper money out and give or attach it to their favorites.  The cruisers were quite generous with their pang’as and helped to provide some scholarship money to the young dancers and their families.

At the evening’s end, each of us were presented with leis made out of plumeria.  I think everyone had a wonderful time.  When we returned to our boat in the starlight, we noticed hundreds and hundreds of big white jelly fish in the water.  We were glad not to be swimming as the jellies invaded the water.


Day 4 – Saturday, October 2, 2010

We did some shopping at the local produce market, picked up some gluten-free baked goods, and spent some time cleaning the boat.  We were able to find through the Tropicana café a man who owns and operates the Vava’u net.  Russ picked him up and ferried him to the boat.  Within 45 minutes, Thomas originally from Switzerland had our Wifi bullet working again.  Yeah!  The good news is we are working.  The bad news is that we are working very slowly. 

Tonga has no fiber optic cable laid out across the ocean.  All transmissions are through a narrow band on the satellite…slower than slow.  Sorry, no Skyping at this speed.  We enjoyed our visit with Thomas who expressed many of the same sentiments about the Tongan culture that we had heard from Ameca and Hana’tele.

Day 5 – Sunday, October 3, 2010

A group of us visited the Catholic Church this morning to hear the Tongan Choir.  Our boat is in the harbor below the Catholic church.  Clear melodic voices drift across the anchorage each evening during their practice.  The mass began at 10:00 a.m.  The choir sang for over 30 minutes of the service, and it was quite lovely.  As we expected, dressing for church brought out the Tongans finest clothes.  Men and boys wore skirts with mats, women wore dresses with mats that were below their knees and covered most of their arms.  There were many Tongans dressed in mourning black with mats around their waist.  The family of women and children directly in front of us, made us wonder if their father, brother, or husbands were lost during the ferry accident.

It was cute watching the children and their response to being in church.  Kids are kids the world round.  Several children were being pushed and pulled into the church.  Their wiggly, giggly bodies were up and down, in and out.  Mothers were giving the children meaningful glances as the kids got too active while playing with handheld toys.   One child got a cuff on the head from her mother for goofing around. 

Ordinarily, flip flops are the shoe of the day, but on Sunday, the fancy footwear was pretty amazing.  Even little girls were wearing heels.  Some women and children were barefoot; apparently they could not afford fancy shoes or their fancy shoes hurt their feet.

The priest was animated  and gesticulated while pacing back and forth across the alter platform.  The entire service was in Tongan, and we didn’t understand one word he was saying.  He did however elicit a few laughs from the congregation who appeared to appreciate the service.  Nearly the entire congregation got up for communion.  There were three lines and three stations.  Communion was very efficient and took no more than 10 minutes.

After the service, we returned to the boat for lunch.   In the afternoon, Russ dropped me off at the Aquarium Café while he helped the Dutch couple on Spirit.  Their boat caught on fire a few days earlier and their Lehman engine (same as ours), needed some repairs.  Russ was offering some help.  While Russ worked with Spirit, I learned how to play Baja Rummy from Freezing Rain, Trim, and Acapella.  It was a fun way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Day 6 – Monday – October 4, 2010

We woke up to rain this morning.  Our planned hike to the top of Mt. Talau was postponed a few hours until the clouds passed by and the sun came out.  Of course when the sun came out, it was hot and steamy as we hiked up the trail through the jungle.  It was an easy hike, although there were some places along the trail where ropes had been tied as hand holds going up the slippery muddy slope.

Russ, Susie from Sidewinder, Steve and Josie from Elyison

Once on top, we had some nice views of the bays and islands of the Vava’u group.  Tomorrow, we are going on a jet kayak expedition on the east side of Neiafu.  The kayaks will take us across some shallow reefs and into some caves for snorkeling.


Day 7 - Tuesday-October 5, 2010

We received word from Marie on Freezing Rain that she had been in contact with Vava'u Adventures and because of the low tide, our jet kayak tour was being postponed from 10:00-11:00.  It was nice to have a leisurely morning on board, drinking coffee and reading through emails.  By 10:30, our sunscreen was on, our snorkel equipment was packed, the camera was in a water tight ziplock bag, and we were in the dinghy to pickup Marie for our jet kayaking adventure.

We parked the dinghy at the Aquarium Cafe dock and walked over the hill from Neiafu to Old Harbor, arriving at the adventure shed just before 11:00.  The tide was very low.  Our guide and proprietor was a young man named Jason from Oakland, California.  He grew up in the Montclair area.  He and his sister and brother-in-law  live in Tonga, currently operating Vava'u Adventures.

There were three kayaks on the shore ready to push off….kind of.  Seems the kayak to which I was assigned didn't want to work.  There seemed to be something wrong with the fuel injection and it wasn't firing right.  Both Russ and Marie were in jet kayaks ready to go.  There were no other kayaks available, so I hopped in the dinghy with Jason.  It would have been fun to zip along in the kayak, but I would not have been able to take pictures as my camera is not waterproof and would have been tucked away.  It was actually to my photographer's advantage to ride in the dinghy, let Jason do the driving, and allow me to snap away.

We saw some lovely beaches, climbed up to a sink hole, and saw some tremendous blow holes shooting foam 50 or more feet into the air.  We also got to do some snorkeling on a reef.  Most remarkable on this snorkel trip were the giant plate or platter coral delicately terraced up the shelf to the reef and teaming with yellow fish over a foot long.  We also saw a crown of thorns sea star and several of the now familiar periwinkle blue/purlple sea stars.

Tonight, Worrall Wind, Trim, Freezing Rain, Pincoya, and Restless visited a local pizza parlor.  Tomorrow, we'll do some shopping for fresh produce, breads, etc., and take off for the anchorages either tomorrow afternoon or Thursday mooring.

More later.  All is well on Worrall Wind